In today\u2019s Steady\nInvestor, we look at key factors that we believe are currently impacting the\neconomic recovery and what could be next for the markets such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Business\nApplications Rise 14% \u2013 <\/strong>Economic data continues to paint a mixed picture of\nthe recovery. On the one hand, the U.S. economy has lost over 11 million jobs\nand $2 trillion in output since the pandemic ravaged the expansion. Even though\nthe August unemployment rate ticked down to 8.4%, the number of open U.S. jobs plateaued\nlate this summer. On the other hand, year-to-date U.S. business applications\nare up 14% from the same period last year, signaling pockets of \u201canimal spirits\u201d\nemerging across the economy.1<\/sup> To be fair, some of the business\nformations are happening as a result of job losses \u2013 unemployed Americans are\nseeking new ways to enter the \u201cgig economy\u201d or form businesses that enable remote\nwork. Other analysts say the current surge in business formation may not\nnecessarily replace paid employment, but rather serve as a source of\nsupplemental income for households. This latter theory may ultimately prove\ncorrect, as data from the U.K., France, Singapore and Japan also show increases\nin business formation. Whether or not this business formation is borne from\noptimism about the economic recovery \u2013 or sheer necessity to stay above water\nuntil the pandemic fades \u2013 cannot truly be calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n How Can You\u00a0Protect Your Retirement During this Crisis?<\/a><\/strong> ______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surging Demand in the\nMortgage Market \u2013 <\/strong>Home sales in the United States soared 25% in July,\nposting the best month ever recorded. The resilience of the housing market has\npuzzled many market-watchers and investors, but perhaps it shouldn\u2019t \u2013 as the\neconomy accelerates towards digitization and remote work capabilities, workers\nand families are increasingly seeking more space to build-out home offices and\nmake home-work life more comfortable. Some economists have referred to the\ncurrent economic recovery as \u201cK-shaped,\u201d inferring that some American\nhouseholds are benefiting and growing wealth during and in the wake of the\npandemic, while others struggle more acutely as the in-person economy slowly\nreopens. Many Americans with work-from-home capabilities are in higher income\nbrackets and have not lost jobs in this recession, meaning they are capable of moving\nand\/or purchasing second homes. And then there\u2019s the matter of interest rates.\nMortgage rates have hit new lows on a few occasions this year, dipping below 3%\nfor the first time in July. According to the mortgage-data firm Black Knight,\nlenders dished out $1.1 trillion in home loans between April and June, marking\nthe best quarter since the company started record-keeping in 2000. Activity in\nthe mortgage market is also being fueled by refinancing, which is up 200% from\na year ago.3<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t Forget About\nBrexit \u2013 <\/strong>If you haven\u2019t heard anything about Brexit in months, it\u2019s because\nno one has been talking about it. But Brexit is still very much an economic\nissue for Europe looming in the backdrop of the pandemic, as European Union and\nU.K. negotiators remain far apart on a trade deal with a deadline approaching. If\ntrade negotiators cannot find common ground by the end of the year, about $800\nbillion in annual tariffs and other trade barriers go into effect \u2013 which hurts\nboth sides in a time when economic growth is sorely needed. Interestingly, one\nof the sticking points of any deal is that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson\nwants to escape EU rules limiting state subsidies for private companies. Though\nBritain slightly lags Germany and France in the amount of state subsidies\n(relative to GDP) it provides private companies, the push to increase subsidies\nruns counter to Britain\u2019s decades-long stance that the government should not\npick winners in the private sector. EU rules limit subsidies that member\ngovernments can provide to private sector companies, so as to avoid any company\ngaining an unfair advantage in the trade bloc. These rules have been\ntemporarily suspended as a result of the pandemic, but plans are in place to reinforce\nthem when the Covid-19 risks fade \u2013 an outcome Britain plans to avoid.4<\/sup>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to Invest During the Pandemic?<\/strong> You may be\nwondering where to invest during this unprecedented time, as cash won\u2019t do. I\nwould suggest considering stocks that are growing earnings and dividends and\nhave a track record of doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn more about how to use dividend-paying stocks in\nyour strategy to potentially generate cash flow for retirement, check out our\nguide \u201cRetirement\u2019s Uphill Battle: Generating Income in a Low Interest Rate\nEnvironment<\/em>.5<\/sup>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or more to invest, click on the link\nbelow to get our free guide today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" July home sales break record, EU and UK still far apart on Brexit, business formation up during pandemic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-private-client-group"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10544,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8857\/revisions\/10544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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The challenge many retirement investors are facing through this crisis is knowing where to invest. Cash won\u2019t do. But a portfolio invested in stocks with a strong track record of dividends and dividend growth may give investors the potential for a stable and predictable source of income in retirement.
\u00a0
To learn more about how to use dividend-paying stocks in your strategy to potentially generate cash flow for retirement, check out our guide \u201cRetirement\u2019s Uphill Battle: Generating Income in a Low Interest Rate Environment.\u201d
\u00a0
\u00a0If you have $500,000 or more to invest, click on the link below to get our free guide today!
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Retirement\u2019s Uphill Battle: Generating Income in a Low Interest Rate Environment.<\/a>2<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n